Beyond What You See
by BHF
Summary: Kagome is a princess who has a big heart, and a not so big wallet, but everything changes when she meets the horrible Inuyasha, her life is now something different, but what happens when she becomes betrothed to Naraku?


Hi my fellow readers! This is a story with the story line of a book very dear to my heart (although I don't know why) named An Earthly Knight, and the characters of Inuyasha, I hope you don't judge this fic by the summary, because, after all, it's a very well written story, and has a great story line and all together a great story. So if you have any respect for a humble writer like myself, give good advise and be kind. No one likes someone who puts you down, someone close to my heart once told me : "For every negative comment, give three positive, that way people will see your being sincere." And I live by that, so thanks for giving your time to read my story and please, if you can find it in your heart, review.

……..

"Sango, look to your king. You left him exposed to my bishop again." Kagome drew her friend's attention back to the chessboard, careful to keep any hint of frustration from her voice. She had spent most of the morning coaxing Sango out here into the sunlight. The slightest misstep would send her dearest friend back to her endless, useless meditating at the shine not far from where they were.

Sango sighed. "My heart is not in this, Kagome. One of the villagers would have given you a better game."

"I don't care about the game, Sango. Your company was all I wanted." But Kagome kept her eyes on the chessman as she spoke. It was painful to look at Sango now. Her long dark hair was uncombed. Purple smudges marred the skin under her gentle brown eyes. Her feet were dirty and bare. Worst of all, she wore the clothing of a peasant, a shapeless garment of coarse brown sackcloth, tied at the waist with a piece of rope. The girl who had delighted in clothes and armor seemed to be gone forever. Again, Kagome silently cursed the man who had left Sango in such a state. After three months, her store of curses was running dry.

Sango finally made her move, blocking the white bishop. When Kagome looked up to praise her, she saw a stranger behind Sango, coming toward them. That he was a stranger was no surprise. Certain types of men were freely admitted to her father's bailey. Young warriors with no land of their own found a place in her father's great hall for as long as they chose to stay, bedding down on pallets on the floor each night among the servants. Every such samurai added to the prestige of the household. Also welcome were priests and monks and traveling entertainers of every kind – the acrobats, jugglers, and musicians who earned their keep by enlivening the dull days of honored families. Kagome guessed this man fell into the first group. His clothing resembled that of another monk that had once graced this land with his presents before quietly moving on to the next town his travels took him to.

He would have to be a stranger to approach Sango now. Most people avoided her. Kagome knew they blamed her for everything that happened. The stranger looked more and more bewildered as he tried to make sense of what he saw. Everyone had their place on this earth. It should be possible to tell who and what anyone was at a glance, to read them, as Kagome, herself had just read this stranger. That was no longer true of Sango. She had become something without a name, without a purpose.

Kagome could see the young man struggling to understand what someone like Sango might be doing at a chessboard with a girl of noble birth, as Kagome plainly was. She had worn one of her best kimonos today to cheer herself, made of fine red silk, with designs of the moon, sun and the stars, all declared her rank.

From his gait and the dust on his clothes, Kagome could also tell that this man had traveled many days before reaching her father's temple. His brown eyes betrayed a sharp wit, a desire to understand everything he saw, which Kagome and her friend had thwarted. The man responded, as most people did lately, by pretending Sango was not there.

"Would you be the daughter of this house, my lady?" He asked Kagome.

"Yes, I am the lord's daughter. My companion was the daughter of a lord as well, who was a very respected ruler of the lands beyond my father's." Kagome said, nodding toward Sango. She had fallen into the habit of trying to make Sango visible to those who pretended she did not exist.

The young monk looked shocked. "This is not the noble beauty who lost –" He caught himself. "Forgive me. I spoke out of turn."

So news of Sango's misfortunes had spread far enough to reach this monk's ears. Kagome made no reply.

"Can you tell me where your lord father would be?" The man said.

Kagome looked around. From the shade of the god tree, she had a good view of this side of the temple, and some of the village. Her father often spent time in the stables, kennels, and fields she could see from here, but she had not noticed him today." He might be out hunting."

"No my lady. The man at the gate said he is within."

"Seek him in the great hall, then, on the other side of stables. I have not seen him this afternoon. But first, please, tell us who you are. We have not had a visitor these many weeks."

"My name is Miroku, and I am a monk. I come from many lands, visiting places far and wide, doing my good where it is needed. I am also a harper."

"Oh, Sango, a harper! How delightful. My friend…" Kagome would have told the monk of her friend's beautiful voice, but Sango would not raise her eyes from the chessboard. Kagome sighed. It would be best to let the man go now, but her curiosity got the better of her. "What news do you bring?"

"Very little. I spent the last five days walking through that endless forest across the river." He gestured past the wooden gate that enclosed the temple toward the land beyond her small village, and toward the great river.

Kagome stared at the man. "You came through that forest alone? And you still have your wits?"

He laughed. "I hope so, my lady. Why do you ask?"

"Those woods belong to the demons. People say –" Kagome stopped herself. Her father's men always laughed at her for speaking of the demons. She waited for this man to mock her now, but he did not.

Instead, he let out his breath slowly, as if he just discovered he had escaped great harm. "I could believe that place was haunted by demons, or any unearthly spirit," He said. "At first, I feared wolves or robbers, but the forest was as empty as a tomb, and as quiet, too. By this morning, I thought myself lost. I was glad to be out of there."

"Most travelers follow the river path. It adds a few days to the journey, but there are sites all along the way. The people in those towns would gladly have fed and sheltered you for your music and teachings." Kagome knew her father's farmers in those small settlements would have welcomed him like royalty. Their lives were filled with hard labor, and they could not travel without their lord's permission.

"I wished to come here directly. When I asked the townsfolk on the other side for the quickest route, they sent me through the forest. No one warned me of demons. It must have seemed a fine joke to them." He shook his head and gave her a flashy smile.

"You do not disbelieve me? My father's people, the warriors, they laugh, and our village headman, Kernu, scolds me for speaking of demons. He says it is wrong for me to hold such unrealistic beliefs. But the people about here have always believed."

"I disbelieve nothing, my lady. My people of the east have always believed in demons as well." He looked puzzled. "But you are not from the east?" This was, after all, the household of an eastern lord.

"My father is as eastern as any of the Emperor's men were. My brother, Sota, is a samurai in the household of Lord Keno toward the north. My companion, also is a true eastern lady." Kagome knew it might seem strange to call someone dressed in sackcloth a lady, but she hurried on without pausing to consider. "I lost my mother when I was but a child, and my father took another wife, my brother's mother, from a highborn family near here. But she also died. I am half eastern, but it is said that I am the child of my mother's folk. But I have not been raised to make a fine marriage with some eastern lord, as Sango -" Kagome stopped in confusion. The pleasure of speaking with someone who did not scorn her beliefs had caused her to forget the sadness for the past few weeks. Her face burned with shame, for Sango more than herself. She lowered her head. "My tongue, I am told, is always two steps ahead of my brain, forgive me."

The harper gave her a look of sympathy that was not marred by pity. "You need never ask forgiveness of me, my lady." He said. "Now, I will seek out your lord father." And he was gone.

Kagome was profoundly grateful for the man's tact. It was true that she need not excuse herself to someone of his rank, but, in fact, few men could bear to admit that any woman might be above them. Most swaggered to show they were better than Kagome, regardless of her rank. A few fawned over her until she felt sick. The man who could give proper respect without seeming to lower himself was rare. She felt herself warm to Miroku. Perhaps he had also meant to say he did not dislike her for her clumsy tongue. That eased Kagome's feeling of shame.

Until she looked at Sango, to hide her discomfort, Kagome began to babble, saying whatever entered her head. "I do hope that man is clever with his harp. Sango, do you not think you would sing with him? Your voice is a gift from heaven."

Sango said nothing. Kagome saw that the harper's arrival had driven Sango back into complete silence. Or rather, the thoughtless words from her own mouth had. The little ground she gained with Sango this day was lost. Tears stung Kagome's eyes.

"My move," Kagome said. She picked up a rook without thinking and set it down again.

Kagome knew she spoke too often and too soon. In happier times, her father often joked that she could do more damage with her tongue than a man could do with a blade. She knew this made her seem clumsy, even stupid. But she was not stupid. She could look at anyone and see past the rank, into the heart, and know it's worth. Her true skill, Keade called it, everyone knew about her infamous archery. And Kagome felt sure that this man, Miroku, was more worthy than most. In spite of everything, his arrival had lifted a little of the weight from her heart. Sango loved music. If Kagome could somehow find a way to persuade her father to let the harper join their household, it might be possible to coax Sango out of the shadows of the past, back into the land of the living.

Kagome sighed. Her skill had failed her only once, with a handsome young man by the name of Onigumo. He had won everyone's trust, including Sango. He deceived her little brother, Kohaku into thinking that everyone was evil, and conniving except for Onigumo, himself. Kohaku began to involve himself with only Onigumo, ignoring everyone else and eventually, Onigumo took hold of the boy's very mind and controlled him, making him slaughter everyone in Sango's father's land. Including everyone in the temple, everyone except Sango. It was not in his intention to leave her alive, but Sango was sleeping soundly outside under the stars and he missed her. When she awoke and found everyone dead, she packed her things and escaped to Kagome's temple. But in doing so, made everyone believe she was the one who killed her friends and family, and not Onigumo. For now, Sango would live at Kagome's temple, it was the least she could do for a friend so in need.

Kagome looked up to see her father coming from the stables. So she had misguided the monk. Her father must have passed earlier, without notice. He looked angry, but that was no surprise. Sango raised a pawn to make her move, unaware that he was bearing down on them like a snake after a mouse. Kagome saw him take a deep breath to launch into a rant, but it was too late to whisper a warning.

"I forbid you both to come or go by Angle's Hall!" He said, his voice a roar. Kagome ducked her head. Sango's graceful white hand hovered over the chessboard for an instant, then plummeted like a dove caught in mid-flight by a falcon, knocking half the chessmen onto the grass. The game was ruined.

Before, Sota had always been the one to calm their father. Now the job fell to Kagome. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Why father, what do you mean? Angel's Hall is promised to me as my tocher." She met her father's eyes steadily. She knew he valued her boldness, her ability to challenge him. He almost smiled. "Kagome, I ask you not to cross me, little one. This is no small matter, since I value your virtue… and what might remain of your friend's"

Sango flinched, as if struck in the face. Kagome's father had not spoken directly to her since her disgrace.

"But please, father, tell us why?" Kagome said. She was more upset than she'd like to show. Angel's Hall was a ruin, but the old house was the only thing of value she had to take into a marriage. She stole away to visit it whenever she could.

Her father sighed heavily. The strain of the past few weeks showed in his face. His eyes were red-rimmed and bleary from sitting too close to the fire and drinking too much. "They say young Inuyasha is back. He has been seen at Angel's Hall." He said.

Kagome's chin went up. "No one can live there. The roof is fallen in." Ruined or not, the place was hers.

"This land was his father's once. But that was twenty years ago. The emperor himself granted me this land. No one can challenge that." His voice rose in outrage. "If he can be baka enough to lay claim to my land, my men will hunt him down like a beast of prey." He paused to let the anger drain from his voice. "So be good, little one, and keep clear of that place until this is settled. And your friend too." He began to walk away, then turned. "Kagome, you know the high priest, of the emperor's court, is bringing that orphan child today. I expect you at my table tonight, dressed to suit your rank. No playing about with your friend."

As soon as he was gone, Sango rose. "Sango," Kagome cried, but her sister's eyes never left the ground as she walked away. Kagome did not follow. She had been no help to her at all today. It would be best to let Sango shed her tears alone.


End file.
